Now that the dust has settled on free agency, all the big-named free agents have been signed. Teams will be preparing for arbitration cases, extensions, signing RFAs, and potential ways to move out money before the start of the 2024-25 season.
For the Los Angeles Kings, their priority is getting their RFAs signed. They have Quintin Byfield, Jordan Spence, and Arthur Kailyev who still need to be signed.
The number one target of those three is Byfield because he will have an evaluated role after the Pierre-Luc Dubois trade. He is also in line to be the face of their franchise when Anze Kopitar and Drew Doughty retire.
Both parties involved will want the best-value contract. Byfield may be smarter to take the same approach that Auston Matthews did and sign a four- or five-year deal, so he is eligible for another larger deal and maximize his earnings.
As for the Kings, they will want to keep the AAV lower so they can use the other cap space and build the support around him. The Kings can either go with a bridge deal, somewhere in and around 3 years at $4-5 million. Or, they can go with the eight-year extension with an AAV of around $7-8 million and pay him more now to save later.
The AAV would come in higher now, but at the back end of the contract, it would be considered a "steal" to have him play for that much.
Next up, we have Spence, the 23-year-old defenseman who doesn't have the NHL service time to demand a ton in his next contract. Saying that it would be wise for him to look at a two-to-three-year bridge deal.
He may only make $2 million per season, but it gives him the chance to show he has what it takes to play at this level long-term, while also setting him up for a larger payday later.
Lastly, Kailyev is in a unique situation with the Kings. He asked for a trade; it seems that the Kings want to also move on from him, but there hasn't been any trade as of yet. Nor have there been any reports about the Kings being close to a deal. Does this mean no one wants him?
If that is the case, the Kings could re-sign him to a one-year, $1 million deal. He will likely be in and out of the lineup if he stays with the organization. However, it also opens up the door for another team to know his exact cap hit.
Right now, if a team trades for his rights and isn't sure of his asking price for a new contract, it could be a reason to not pursue a trade. Whereas if the Kings work out a short-term, low AAV deal with Kailyv, it could open the door to a potential deal by training camp.
The Kings have done a fair bit of business this off-season, but before they can look ahead to next season, they need to sign at least Byfield and Spence to extensions.